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| I can actually care about fashion... and scents! |
I am an ally because being straight is not a choice.
I'm a straight guy. I'm probably the last person you'd think who'll support the LGBT movement. I mean most of the "traditional" gender beliefs are biased towards my gender and orientation. Why should I support it?
It's because that I see there are benefits even to a straight guy like me.
Firstly, it's made me more confident in my own sexuality. Just like being gay isn't a choice, being straight isn't a choice either. There is absolutely zero chance of me turning gay by associating with gay people because... I can't turn gay!
This counteracts a fear of "contagion" that had been ingrained into my boyhood beliefs by my conservative society. This has allowed me to become comfortable with and empathize with the non-heteronormative orientations. It's like there's a whole class of people with different life experiences that I no longer feel fearful about.
Secondly, because of this, I can explore parts of my personality that lean away from heteronormativity. Like, for example, feeling more conscious about how I look and what clothes match with what, and men's grooming products, things that are not traditionally associated with "manly" concerns. I've also learned to be comfortable in finding men attractive. I'm not attracted to them sexually (I am straight after all) but I do appreciate them in an aesthetic manner and I've grown comfortable with the parts of me that enjoy looking.
Finally, it has really opened my eyes to the fact that the world is simply more complex then we ever imagined. There aren't just two genders, there's a whole spectrum of sexuality and it's very complicated and lots of people live in that spectrum. But despite all that, these are all PEOPLE and all deserving of love and respect regardless of who they are attracted to (or not attracted to). There is beauty in diversity that exists in harmony. An ideal world for me is a world that accepts this diversity.
This is why I am an Ally and why I support the rights of LGBT people to marry those they love, to live with dignity and to not suffer from discrimination. Straight people have nothing to fear from these people because being straight is not a choice.
